I frequently get asked by college students what they should be doing in order to set themselves up for a career in social innovation, entrepreneurship, or simply doing something that they love. So this is the first of a five-part series on how to make the most out of college if you want a meaningful career.
Recognize that you can accept or reject society’s definition of success. The fact that much of the world (and media, etc.) still makes income the primary metric by which they measure success doesn’t mean you have to as well. The sooner you can see that having high income as a result of creating actual value—for an employer, for customers, for the world—is better than having it be the goal in and of itself, the sooner you will be free to make choices that are strategic and not myopic. Those strategic choices driven by a personalized definition of success are the key to a meaningful career.
Recognize that you can accept or reject society’s definition of success. Tweet This Quote
Besides, research shows that deep fulfillment is not correlated with salary once you get past ~$75,000.
Things like your health, involvement in your community (however you define that), relationships with your friends and family, and what you do with your time on a day-to-day basis are all much more significant contributors to your sense of well-being.
This line of thinking also opens the door to start adding other layers to your personal definition of success.
- Do you want to design your life so that you spend a lot of your time outdoors? Or spending it with people?
- Do you want to live in a certain city? Or have a flexible enough job that you can travel often?
- Do you want to work a ton because you love the satisfaction of a job well done? Or do you want to work as little as possible because you like to relax and hang out?
- Do you want to spend time with your current friends? New friends? People who challenge you?
You can choose whichever facets of your life you want to focus on—but only if you first realize that there are no actual rules to success. Most people don’t realize that until they are 45 or 50, if ever.
The more you can think for yourself—and better yet, experiment—the freer you will be to start living the life you actually want Tweet This Quote
And remember that parents and friends are part of society, in this case. Just because they’ve been telling you that you should be a doctor for the last 10 years does NOT mean you will be happy being a doctor. And your friends competing to get top consulting or banking jobs does not mean that you will enjoy those jobs (or the process of competing) if you choose to follow suit.
The more you can think for yourself—and better yet, experiment—the freer you will be to start living the life you actually want, instead of living a life that other people want for you.